A Chinese zoo under fire for teaching its elephants to perform martial arts stunts is facing further complaints after pictures emerged of an apparently emaciated tiger.
The pictures appear to show a painfully thin-looking tiger lying on the bare floor of a pen at Tianjin Zoo, in Tianjin, China.
The zoo has now received a number of complaints after the pictures were posted on to social media site Weibo.
The post on Weibo reads: 'These pictures were taken by a friend of mine. I can't help but cry when I see this.
'I have no idea how to help, but I just emailed the Animal Protection Organization. Hope it will work.
'Whoever has a clue how to help, please take action to improve the tiger's living condition.
'I am asking for the people concerned to investigate it and to treat animals better!'
Officials at the zoo have insisted the tiger had been diagnosed with a digestion problem.
Zoo keeper Wei K'ung told local media: 'We have seven tigers and only one is not healthy. She had a digestive disorder since she was a cub but it worsened as she aged.
'She is now 13, that makes her an OAP in tiger terms, and the medicine she has been given no longer works so well. That is the reason she seems so thin.'
Critics however have accused the zoo of keeping the tiger alive longer despite her suffering in order to have something to show zoo visitors.
The zoo has denied the tiger was in pain, saying that only when she really seemed to be suffering would they consider putting her to sleep.
The pictures appear to show a painfully thin-looking tiger lying on the bare floor of a pen at Tianjin Zoo, in Tianjin, China.
The zoo has now received a number of complaints after the pictures were posted on to social media site Weibo.
The post on Weibo reads: 'These pictures were taken by a friend of mine. I can't help but cry when I see this.
'I have no idea how to help, but I just emailed the Animal Protection Organization. Hope it will work.
'Whoever has a clue how to help, please take action to improve the tiger's living condition.
'I am asking for the people concerned to investigate it and to treat animals better!'
Officials at the zoo have insisted the tiger had been diagnosed with a digestion problem.
Zoo keeper Wei K'ung told local media: 'We have seven tigers and only one is not healthy. She had a digestive disorder since she was a cub but it worsened as she aged.
'She is now 13, that makes her an OAP in tiger terms, and the medicine she has been given no longer works so well. That is the reason she seems so thin.'
Critics however have accused the zoo of keeping the tiger alive longer despite her suffering in order to have something to show zoo visitors.
The zoo has denied the tiger was in pain, saying that only when she really seemed to be suffering would they consider putting her to sleep.
Source : DailyMail , Mirror , Shangaiist
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